Control device, program, control method of refrigerator, and refrigerator

ABSTRACT

A control device that controls a compressor and an in-refrigerator fan to circulate cool air in a refrigerator including first and second storage compartments, includes a controller that controls a rotational speed of the compressor and the in-refrigerator fan based on an outside air temperature of the refrigerator, and a calculator that calculates an average internal temperature of the second storage compartment during one cycle from when the compressor stops an operation until when the compressor stops a next operation. The controller controls an operation and stoppage of the compressor based on an internal temperature of the first storage compartment and corrects the rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan when the compressor operates during a next cycle based on a comparison result between the average temperature and a threshold.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to a control device, a program, a controlmethod of a refrigerator, and a refrigerator.

2. Description of the Related Art

In an inexpensive refrigerator including one freezer compartment and onerefrigerator compartment, an internal temperature of the refrigerator ismaintained by a compressor for circulating a cooling medium, anevaporator vaporizing the cooling medium, and an in-refrigerator fan forblowing cool air.

Recently, in order to reduce energy consumption in the refrigerator, arotational speed of the compressor is controlled according to an outsideair temperature. However, ratios of the amount of heat leakage from theoutside air temperature to the inside of the refrigerator are differentin a plurality of storage compartments such as the refrigeratorcompartment and the freezer compartment, respectively. In addition, theratio of the amount of heat leakage changes depending on contents orquantity in each storage compartment. Furthermore, the temperature inthe storage compartment rises or falls depending on opening and closingsituations of each storage compartment. Accordingly, methods of coolingthe separate storage compartments are relatively different from eachother.

In contrast to this, in a refrigerator including a damper or the like,by controlling opening and closing of the damper according to atemperature change of each storage compartment, the amount ofcirculation of cool air can be controlled for each storage compartment.Meanwhile, in a case where the damper or the like is not used to makethe refrigerator inexpensive, it is impossible to individually controlan internal temperature of each storage compartment. Accordingly, in acase where temperature control is performed based on the temperature ofeither one of the storage compartments, there is a problem thatovercooling or insufficient cooling of the other storage compartmentoccurs.

A refrigerator in which ON/OFF of a compressor is performed based on atemperature of the refrigerator compartment, and an application voltageof a cooling fan (in-refrigerator fan) changes depending on whether ornot an outside air temperature is lower than or equal to a predeterminedtemperature.

However, the compressor is turned on and off based on the temperature ofone of the storage compartments, but since a temperature of the otherstorage compartment is not managed, it is impossible to cope with a casewhere the temperatures of the two storage compartments change relativelydepending on contents or quantity in each storage compartment.Therefore, there is a possibility that overcooling or insufficientcooling of one storage compartment occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An example embodiment of the present disclosure provides a controldevice that controls a compressor and an in-refrigerator fan tocirculate cool air in the refrigerator including a first storagecompartment and a second storage compartment, includes a controller thatcontrols a rotational speed of the compressor and the in-refrigeratorfan based on an outside air temperature of the refrigerator, and acalculator that calculates an average internal temperature of the secondstorage compartment during one cycle from when the compressor stops anoperation until when the compressor stops a next operation, in which thecontroller controls an operation and stoppage of the compressor based onan internal temperature of the first storage compartment and correctsthe rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan when the compressoroperates during a next cycle based on a comparison result between theaverage temperature and a threshold.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium includes a program that causes a computer tofunction as the control device.

In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a control method isa method of controlling, in a refrigerator including a first storagecompartment and a second storage compartment, a compressor and anin-refrigerator fan to circulate cool air in the refrigerator. Themethod includes a control process of causing a process core to control arotational speed of the compressor and the in-refrigerator fan based onan outside air temperature of the refrigerator, and a calculationprocess of causing a process core to calculate an average internaltemperature of the second storage compartment during one cycle from whenthe compressor stops an operation until when the compressor stops a nextoperation. In the control process, the processor core controls anoperation and stoppage of the compressor based on an internaltemperature of the first storage compartment and corrects the rotationalspeed of the in-refrigerator fan when the compressor operates during thenext cycle based on a comparison result between the average temperatureand a threshold.

In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a refrigeratorincludes a first storage compartment, a second storage compartment, afirst storage compartment temperature sensor, a second storagecompartment temperature sensor, an outside air temperature sensor, acompressor, an evaporator, an in-refrigerator fan, and the controldevice. The first storage compartment temperature sensor measures aninternal temperature of the first storage compartment. The secondstorage compartment temperature sensor measures an internal temperatureof the second storage compartment. The outside air temperature sensormeasures an outside air temperature of the refrigerator. The compressorcirculates a cooling medium. The evaporator generates cool air byvaporizing the cooling medium. The in-refrigerator fan circulates thecool air in the refrigerator.

The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics andadvantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the example embodiments with referenceto the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic overall configuration of arefrigerator according to an example embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional block of a control deviceof the refrigerator.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing in which the controldevice determines a rotational speed of an in-refrigerator fan.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, example embodiments of the present disclosure will now bedescribed with reference to the drawings. A scope of the presentdisclosure is not limited to the following example embodiments and canbe randomly changed within a scope of a technical idea of the presentdisclosure. In addition, in the following drawings, in order to makeeach configuration easy to understand, there is a case where a scale, anumber, and the like in each structure are made different from an actualscale.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic overall configuration of arefrigerator according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Arefrigerator 1 includes two refrigerator compartments, which are afreezer compartment 2 that is a first storage compartment and arefrigerator compartment 3 that is a second storage compartment. Thefreezer compartment 2 and the refrigerator compartment 3 are cooled by acompressor 4 that circulates a cooling medium, an evaporator 5 thatgenerating cool air by vaporizing the cooling medium, and anin-refrigerator fan 6 that circulates the cool air generated by theevaporator 5 in a refrigerator 1. In FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 has aconfiguration in which the freezer compartment 2 is located on an upperside of the refrigerator compartment 3 in a vertical direction, but thepresent disclosure is not limited to this form. For example, the freezercompartment 2 may be located on a lower side of the refrigeratorcompartment 3 in the vertical direction.

The compressor 4 is provided in a machine compartment (not illustrated)behind the refrigerator 1. A condenser, a capillary tube, and theevaporator 5 are connected to the compressor 4 via a refrigerant pipe(not illustrated) that makes a cooling medium flow therethrough, and thecooling medium circulates. The in-refrigerator fan 6 supplies the coolair generated by the evaporator 5 to the freezer compartment 2 via anejection hole 11. The in-refrigerator fan 6 supplies the cool airgenerated by the evaporator 5 to the refrigerator compartment 3 from theejection hole 12 via a vent hole not illustrated in FIG. 1. The cool airdelivered to the freezer compartment 2 and the refrigerator compartment3 returns to the evaporator 5 via vent holes 13 and 14. Accordingly, asthe in-refrigerator fan 6 rotates at a high speed, the cool air in thefreezer compartment 2 and the refrigerator compartment 3 easilycirculates in the refrigerator. In addition, as the in-refrigerator fan6 rotates at a low speed, the cool air in the freezer compartment 2 andthe refrigerator compartment 3 hardly circulates inside therefrigerator.

An outside air temperature sensor 7 is provided on an upper surface ofthe refrigerator 1. The outside air temperature sensor 7 detects(measures) an outside air temperature of the refrigerator 1. A locationof the outside air temperature sensor is not limited to this and theoutside air temperature sensor may be provided on a back surface or aside surface of the refrigerator 1. In addition, the freezer compartment2 and the refrigerator compartment 3 each have in-refrigeratortemperature sensors 8 and 9 provided inside the refrigerator. In thepresent embodiment, a control device included in the refrigerator 1controls an operation and stoppage of the compressor, based on anin-refrigerator temperature of the freezer compartment 2 detected(measured) by the in-refrigerator temperature sensor 8 of the freezercompartment 2. Thereby, the temperature of the freezer compartment ismaintained within a predetermined temperature range. The control of therefrigerator 1 made by the control device will be described below withreference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional block of a control deviceof a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.The control device 10 is installed on an upper portion or a back surfaceof the refrigerator 1. The control device 10 may be configured by, forexample, a microcomputer, a microprocessor unit or the like, or may beconfigured by updatable device such as firmware or may be configured bya program or the like executed by a command from a CPU or the like. Thatis, the control device 10 may have a program for allowing the computerto function as each unit.

The control device 10 includes a control unit 101, a storage unit 102,and a calculation unit 103. The control device 10 is connected to thecompressor 4, the in-refrigerator fan 6, the outside air temperaturesensor 7, the in-refrigerator temperature sensors 8 and 9, and the like.Detection signals from the outside air temperature sensor 7 and thein-refrigerator temperature sensors 8 and 9 are input to the controldevice 10, respectively. The outside air temperature sensor 7 detects anoutside air temperature of the refrigerator 1. The in-refrigeratortemperature sensor 8 detects an in-refrigerator temperature of thefreezer compartment 2. The in-refrigerator temperature sensor 9 detectsan in-refrigerator temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3.

The control unit 101 controls the compressor 4 and the in-refrigeratorfan 6 of the refrigerator 1 based on a control program previously storedin the storage unit 102. Specifically, the control unit 101 determinesan operation and stoppage of the compressor 4 and the in-refrigeratorfan 6 and the number of rotations (rotational speed) of the compressor 4and the in-refrigerator fan 6 based on the control program. For example,in a case where the control device 10 is a microcomputer, the controlunit 101 is a processor core.

The storage unit 102 stores a control program in advance and alsofunctions as a work area of the control unit 101. In addition, thestorage unit 102 stores detection signals input from the outside airtemperature sensor 7 and the in-refrigerator temperature sensors 8 and9.

The calculation unit 103 calculates an average temperature of therefrigerator compartment 3 during one cycle from when the compressor 4stops an operation until when the compressor stops a next operation,using an in-refrigerator temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3stored in the storage unit 102. Specifically, the calculation unit 103calculates. In the present embodiment, the calculation unit calculatesan average temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 by using thein-refrigerator temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 for eachunit time during one cycle from when the compressor 4 stops an operationuntil when the compressor stops a next operation, among thein-refrigerator temperatures of the refrigerator compartment 3 detectedby the in-refrigerator temperature sensor 9 and stored in the storageunit 102. In the present embodiment, the calculation unit calculates theaverage temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 during one cyclefrom when the compressor 4 stops an operation until when the compressorstops a next operation, but a period for calculating the averagetemperature is not limited to this. For example, the period may be aperiod from start of the operation of the compressor 4 to stoppage ofthe compressor 4, or may be a period from the start of operation of thecompressor 4 to start of the next operation.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the calculation unit 103calculates an average temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3, butthe present disclosure is not limited to this. In a case where thecontrol device included in the refrigerator 1 controls an operation andstoppage of the compressor based on the in-refrigerator temperature ofthe refrigerator compartment 3 detected (measured) by thein-refrigerator temperature sensor 9 included in the refrigeratorcompartment 3, by calculation unit 103 may calculate the averagetemperature of the freezer compartment 2. In addition, the calculationunit 103 may calculate the average temperatures of the freezercompartment 2 and the refrigerator compartment 3, respectively. Theaverage temperature calculated by the calculation unit 103 is stored inthe storage unit 102.

Next, an operation of the control device according to the presentembodiment will be described. The control unit 101 of the control device10 controls the operations and stoppages of the compressor 4 and thein-refrigerator fan 6 based on the in-refrigerator temperature of thefreezer compartment 2. Specifically, in a case where the in-refrigeratortemperature of the freezer compartment 2 is higher than −18° C., thecontrol unit 101 starts the operations of the compressor 4 and thein-refrigerator fan 6. In addition, in a case where the in-refrigeratortemperature of the freezer compartment 2 is lower than −22° C., thecontrol unit 101 stops the operations of the compressor 4 and thein-refrigerator fan 6.

The control unit 101 changes the number of rotations (rotational speed)at the time of operating the compressor 4 according to a change of anoutside air temperature. The storage unit 102 stores a correspondencebetween the outside air temperature and the rotational speed of thecompressor 4 in advance. For example, the storage unit 102 previouslystores a correspondence table, such as setting the rotational speed perunit time of the compressor 4 to 2000 rpm in a case where the outsideair temperature is 20° C., and setting the rotational speed per unittime of the compressor 4 to 2,500 rpm in a case where the outside airtemperature is 25° C. When the compressor 4 operates, the control unit101 determines the rotational speed of the compressor 4 corresponding tothe outside air temperature based on the detection signal input from theoutside air temperature sensor 7.

The control unit 101 determines the rotational speed of thein-refrigerator fan 6 according to the rotational speed of thecompressor 4. The storage unit 102 previously stores the correspondencebetween the rotational speed of the compressor 4 and the rotationalspeed of the in-refrigerator fan 6. The rotational speed of thein-refrigerator fan 6 determined according to the rotational speed ofthe compressor 4 is referred to as a reference rotational speed. In theprocessing to be described below, the rotational speed of thein-refrigerator fan 6 is corrected from the reference rotational speed.Details thereof will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing in which the controldevice determines the rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan. In acase where the control device 10 is a microcomputer, the processingperformed by the control unit 101 to be described in detail below may berealized by processing of a processor core. After the control unit 101determines the rotational speed of the compressor 4 according to theoutside air temperature, the processing of FIG. 3 starts. First, thecontrol unit 101 determines whether or not the rotational speed of thecompressor 4 is changed from a rotational speed (a previous rotationalspeed) at the time of operating in a previous cycle (step S101).

In a case where the control unit 101 determines that the rotationalspeed of the compressor 4 is changed from the previous rotational speed,the processing proceeds to step S102. The control unit 101 determinesthe rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 as a referencerotational speed ω2 without correction (step S102). Then, the controlunit 101 maintains the rotational speed ω2 of the in-refrigerator fan 6to operate the in-refrigerator fan until the compressor 4 stops (stepS103). That is, in a case where the rotational speed of the compressor 4changed based on the outside air temperature, the control unit 101maintains the rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 when thecompressor 4 operates in the next cycle to the reference rotationalspeed determined according to the rotational speed of the compressor 4.

Thereby, in a case where the control unit 101 changes the rotationalspeed of the compressor 4 due to the change of the outside airtemperature, deviation from a predetermined range of the averagetemperature (range higher than or equal to the reference temperature T1and lower than or equal to the reference temperature T2) of therefrigerator compartment 3 can be removed due to the influence. However,even in a case where the control unit 101 changes the rotational speedof the compressor 4, an average temperature of the refrigeratorcompartment 3 may not be determined within a predetermined range. In thepresent embodiment, the control unit 101 changes the rotational speed ofthe in-refrigerator fan 6 when the compressor 4 operates in the nextcycle, thereby, controls the in-refrigerator temperature of therefrigerator compartment 3 so as to be an appropriate value.

Meanwhile, in a case where the control unit 101 determines that therotational speed of the compressor 4 is not changed from the previousrotational speed in step S101, the processing proceeds to step S104. Thecontrol unit 101 determines whether or not the average temperature ofthe refrigerator compartment 3 stored in the storage unit 102 is lowerthan s reference temperature T1 which is a first threshold. In a casewhere the control unit 101 determines that the average temperature ofthe refrigerator compartment 3 is lower than the reference temperatureT1, the processing proceeds to step S105. The control unit 101 decreasesthe rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 (step S105). That is,the control unit 101 determines the rotational speed of thein-refrigerator fan 6 as ω1 which is smaller than the referencerotational speed ω2. Then, the control unit 101 maintains the rotationalspeed ω1 of the in-refrigerator fan 6 to operate the in-refrigerator fanuntil the compressor 4 stops (step S106).

Meanwhile, in a case where the control unit 101 determines that theaverage temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 is higher than orequal to the reference temperature T1 in step S104, the processingproceeds to step S107. The control unit 101 determines whether or notthe average temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 is higher thana reference temperature T2 which is a second threshold. The referencetemperature T2 is set to a value larger than the reference temperatureT1. In a case where the control unit 101 determines that the averagetemperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 is higher than thereference temperature T2, the processing proceeds to step S108. Thecontrol unit 101 increases the rotational speed of the in-refrigeratorfan 6 (step S108). That is, the control unit 101 determines therotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 as ω3 which is larger thanthe reference rotational speed ω2. Then, the control unit 101 maintainsthe rotational speed ω3 of the in-refrigerator fan 6 to operate thein-refrigerator fan until the compressor 4 stops (step S109).

In step S107, in a case where the control unit 101 determines that theaverage temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 is lower than orequal to the reference temperature T2, the processing proceeds to stepS110. The control unit 101 determines the rotational speed of thein-refrigerator fan 6 as the reference rotational speed ω2 withoutcorrection (step S110). Then, the control unit 101 maintains therotational speed ω2 of the in-refrigerator fan 6 to operate thein-refrigerator fan until the compressor 4 stops (step S111).

The control unit 101 determines the reference rotational speed ω2 of thein-refrigerator fan 6 determined according to the rotational speed ofthe compressor 4, and correction values thereof ω1 and ω3 by using acontrol sequence not illustrated. A specific value depends on a capacityof the refrigerator 1 and a capacity of the compressor 4, and it ispossible to set an optimum value by actually performing a measurementfor each combination of the refrigerator 1 and the compressor 4.

In addition, in a case where it is determined that the averagetemperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 is higher than or equal tothe reference temperature T1 and is lower than or equal to the referencetemperature T2 (No in step S104 and No in step S107), the control unit101 may determine whether or not the outside air temperature tends toincrease. At this time, in a case where the control unit 101 determinesthat the outside air temperature does not increase, the processingproceeds to step S110. In a case where the control unit 101 determinesthat the outside air temperature tends to increase, the control unit 101determines the rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 to a valueω3 which is larger than the reference rotational speed ω2.

That is, even in a case where the average temperature of therefrigerator compartment 3 is higher than or equal to the referencetemperature T1 which is the first threshold and is lower than or equalto the reference temperature T2 which is the second threshold, when theoutside air temperature tends to increase, the control unit 101 makesthe next determination. That is, the control unit 101 increases therotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 when the compressor 4operates during the next cycle to a value larger than the referencerotational speed ω2. Here, in a case where the outside air temperaturetends to increase, the refrigerator compartment 3 is larger in a ratioof the amount of heat leakage than the freezer compartment 2. That is,the refrigerator compartment 3 is hard to cool as compared with thefreezer compartment 2. In the present embodiment, since the rotationalspeed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 is higher than the referencerotational speed ω2, internal cool air of the refrigerator is furthercirculated. As a result, since the cool air in the freezer compartment 2is circulated by the refrigerator compartment 3, the ratio of the amountof heat leakage can be kept as equal as possible. Accordingly, in a casewhere the compressor 4 operates and stops based on the in-refrigeratortemperature of the freezer compartment 2, it is possible to prevent therefrigerator compartment 3 from being insufficiently cooled.

In the same manner, in a case where it is determined that the averagetemperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 is higher than or equal tothe reference temperature T1 and is lower than or equal to the referencetemperature T2 (No in step S104 and No in step S107), the control unit101 may furthermore determine whether or not the outside air temperaturetends to decrease. At this time, in a case where the control unit 101determines that the outside air temperature does not tend to decrease,the processing proceeds to step S110. In a case where the control unit101 determines that the outside air temperature tends to decrease, thecontrol unit 101 determines the rotational speed of the in-refrigeratorfan 6 as ω1 which is a value smaller than the reference rotational speedω2.

That is, even in a case where the average temperature of therefrigerator compartment 3 is higher than or equal to the referencetemperature T1 which is the first threshold and is lower than or equalto the reference temperature T2 which is the second threshold, when theoutside air temperature tends to decrease, the control unit 101 makesthe next determination. That is, the control unit 101 decreases therotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 when the compressor 4operates during the next cycle to a value lower than the referencerotational speed ω2. Thereby, even in a case where it is determined thatthe rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 may not be correctedfrom the average temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 duringthe previous cycle of the compressor 4, in a case where the outside airtemperature tends to decrease, the rotational speed of thein-refrigerator fan 6 is decreased. This is because the refrigeratorcompartment 3 is smaller in the ratio of the amount of heat leakage thanthe freezer compartment 2 in a case where the outside air temperaturetends to decrease. That is, the refrigerator compartment 3 is cooledmore easily than the freezer compartment 2. Accordingly, in a case wherethe compressor 4 operates and stops based on the in-refrigeratortemperature of the freezer compartment 2, cooling of the refrigeratorcompartment 3 may be extremely advanced. Therefore, it is possible tosuppress overcooling of the refrigerator compartment 3 by decreasing therotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the controlunit 101 corrects the rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 whenthe compressor 4 operates during the next cycle, based on the comparisonresult between the average temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3and the threshold (the first threshold or the second threshold).Specifically, in a case where the average temperature of therefrigerator compartment 3 is lower than the reference temperature T1which is the first threshold, the control unit 101 decreases therotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 when the compressor 4operates during the next cycle to a value smaller than the referencerotational speed ω2. In addition, in a case where the averagetemperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 is higher than thereference temperature T2 which is the second threshold larger than thereference temperature T1 that is the first threshold, the control unit101 increases the rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 when thecompressor 4 operates during the next cycle to a value larger than thereference rotational speed ω2.

That is, in a case where the operation and stop of the compressor 4 arecontrolled based on the in-refrigerator temperature of the freezercompartment 2 which is the first storage compartment, and in a casewhere the average temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 which isthe second storage compartment is not fit within a predetermined range(range higher than or equal to the reference temperature T1 and lowerthan or equal to the reference temperature T2), the rotational speed ofthe in-refrigerator fan 6 is corrected. Thereby, it is possible tosuppress overcooling and insufficient cooling of the refrigeratorcompartment 3 even in a case where a cooling method of the individualstorage compartments changes relatively depending on contents orquantity in each storage compartment and an opening and closingsituation of each storage compartment, and to reduce energy consumptionof the refrigerator 1.

In the present embodiment, the first storage compartment is set as thefreezer compartment 2, and the operation and stoppage of the compressor4 and the in-refrigerator fan 6 are controlled based on the temperatureof the freezer compartment 2, but the present disclosure is not limitedto this. The first storage compartment may be set as the refrigeratorcompartment 3, and the operation and stoppage of the compressor 4 andthe in-refrigerator fan 6 may be controlled based on the temperature ofthe refrigerator compartment 3. At this time, in a case where the secondstorage compartment is set as the freezer compartment 2 and the averagetemperature of the freezer compartment 2 deviates from the referencetemperature, the control unit 101 corrects the rotational speed of thein-refrigerator fan 6 from the reference rotational speed.

Here, in a case where the operation and stoppage of the compressor 4 andthe in-refrigerator fan 6 are controlled based on the in-refrigeratortemperature of the refrigerator compartment 3 rather than the freezercompartment 2, the calculation unit 103 calculates an averagetemperature of the freezer compartment 2 during one cycle from when thecompressor 4 stops an operation until when the compressor stops a nextoperation. Then, the calculation unit 103 stores the average temperatureof the freezer compartment 2 in the storage unit 102. In addition, thecontrol unit 101 may replace the “refrigerator compartment” with the“freezer compartment” in the flowchart of FIG. 3 to perform anoperation. At this time, the reference temperatures T1 and T2 indicatereference temperatures of a freezer compartment, and the rotationalspeeds ω1 to ω3 of the in-refrigerator compartment fan 6 becomeω1>ω2>ω3.

That is, in a case where the average temperature of the freezercompartment 2 is lower than the reference temperature T1 that is a firstthreshold, the control unit 101 increases the rotational speed of thein-refrigerator fan 6 when the compressor operates during the next cycleto a value larger than the reference rotational speed ω2. In a casewhere the average temperature of the freezer compartment 2 is higherthan the reference temperature T2 which is a second threshold higherthan the reference temperature T1 which is the first threshold, thecontrol unit 101 decreases the rotational speed of the in-refrigeratorfan 6 when the compressor 4 operates during the next cycle to a valuesmaller than the reference rotational speed ω2. Thereby, it is possibleto suppress overcooling and insufficient cooling of the freezercompartment 2 and to reduce energy consumption of the refrigerator 1.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in therefrigerator 1 including the first storage compartment and the secondstorage compartment, the control device 10 that controls the compressor4 and the in-refrigerator fan 6 for circulating cool air in therefrigerator 1 includes the control unit 101 that controls therotational speeds of the compressor 4 and the in-refrigerator fan 6based on an outside air temperature of the refrigerator 1. In addition,the control device 10 includes the calculation unit 103 that calculatesan internal average temperature of the second storage compartment duringa predetermined cycle of the compressor 4. The control unit 101 controlsthe operation and stoppage of the compressor 4 based on an internaltemperature of the first storage compartment. Then, the control unit 101corrects the rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan 6 when thecompressor 4 operates during the next cycle, based on a comparisonresult between the average temperature and the threshold (the firstthreshold or the second threshold).

That is, in the refrigerator, even in a case where the operation andstoppage of the compressor are controlled based on the temperature ofany one storage compartment (first storage compartment) of the freezercompartment and the refrigerator compartment, an average temperature ofthe other storage compartment (second storage compartment) iscalculated, and the rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan iscorrected based on the average temperature. Therefore, it is possible tosuppress overcooling and insufficient cooling also in both the firststorage compartment and the second storage compartment. That is, in therefrigerator, it is possible to suppress overcooling or insufficientcooling of the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment andto reduce energy consumption of the refrigerator.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scopeand spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention,therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A control device that controls, in a refrigeratorincluding a first storage compartment and a second storage compartment,a compressor and an in-refrigerator fan to circulate cool air in therefrigerator, the control device comprising: a controller that controlsa rotational speed of each of the compressor and the in-refrigerator fanbased on an outside air temperature of the refrigerator; and acalculator that calculates an average internal temperature of the secondstorage compartment during one cycle from when the compressor stops anoperation until when the compressor stops a next operation; wherein thecontroller controls an operation and stoppage of the compressor based onan internal temperature of the first storage compartment and correctsthe rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan when the compressoroperates during a next cycle based on a comparison result between theaverage internal temperature and a threshold.
 12. The control deviceaccording to claim 11, wherein the controller corrects the rotationalspeed of the in-refrigerator fan when the compressor operates during thenext cycle from a reference rotational speed which is determinedaccording to the rotational speed of the compressor, based on thecomparison result between the average temperature and the threshold. 13.The control device according to claim 11, wherein, in a case where therotational speed of the compressor is changed based on the outside airtemperature, the controller maintains the rotational speed of thein-refrigerator fan when the compressor operates during the next cycleas a reference rotational speed which is determined according to therotational speed of the compressor.
 14. The control device according toclaim 12, wherein, in a case where the first storage compartment is afreezer compartment and the second storage compartment is a refrigeratorcompartment, the controller decreases the rotational speed of thein-refrigerator fan when the compressor operates during the next cycleto a value lower than the reference rotational speed in a case where theaverage temperature is lower than a first threshold, and the controllerincreases the rotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan when thecompressor operates during the next cycle to a value higher than thereference rotational speed in a case where the average temperature ishigher than the second threshold larger than the first threshold. 15.The control device according to claim 14, wherein, even in a case wherethe average temperature is higher than or equal to the first thresholdand is lower than or equal to the second threshold, when the outside airtemperature increases, the controller increases the rotational speed ofthe in-refrigerator fan when the compressor operates during the nextcycle to a value higher than the reference rotational speed.
 16. Thecontrol device according to claim 14, wherein, even in a case where theaverage temperature is higher than or equal to the first threshold andis lower than or equal to the second threshold, when the outside airtemperature decreases, the controller decreases the rotational speed ofthe in-refrigerator fan when the compressor operates during the nextcycle to a value lower than the reference rotational speed.
 17. Thecontrol device according to claim 12, wherein, in a case where the firststorage compartment is a refrigerator compartment and the second storagecompartment is a freezer compartment, the controller increases therotational speed of the in-refrigerator fan when the compressor operatesduring the next cycle to a value higher than the reference rotationalspeed in a case where the average temperature is lower than the firstthreshold, and the controller decreases the rotational speed of thein-refrigerator fan when the compressor operates during the next cycleto a value lower than the reference rotational speed in a case where theaverage temperature is higher than the first threshold and is higherthan the second threshold.
 18. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumincluding a program that causes a computer to function as the controldevice according to claim
 11. 19. A control method of controlling, in arefrigerator including a first storage compartment and a second storagecompartment, a compressor and an in-refrigerator fan to circulate coolair in the refrigerator, the method comprising: a control process ofcausing a process core to control a rotational speed of each of thecompressor and the in-refrigerator fan based on an outside airtemperature of the refrigerator; and a calculation process of causing aprocess core to calculate an average internal temperature of the secondstorage compartment during one cycle from when the compressor stops anoperation until when the compressor stops a next operation; wherein inthe control process, the processor core controls an operation andstoppage of the compressor based on an internal temperature of the firststorage compartment and corrects the rotational speed of thein-refrigerator fan when the compressor operates during a next cyclebased on a comparison result between the average temperature and athreshold.
 20. A refrigerator comprising: a first storage compartment; asecond storage compartment; a first storage compartment temperaturesensor that measures an internal temperature of the first storagecompartment; a second storage compartment temperature sensor thatmeasures an internal temperature of the second storage compartment; anoutside air temperature sensor that measures an outside air temperatureof the refrigerator; a compressor that circulates a cooling medium; anevaporator that generates cool air by vaporizing the cooling medium; anin-refrigerator fan that circulates the cool air in the refrigerator;and the control device according to claim 11.